Welcome to Why Choose Renewable Energy. Although it might seem counter intuitive given the state of the world economy, 2010 was actually another record year for renewable energy sources, such as wind power, which was increased to a globally installed total of 200 GW by 39.4 GW of new capacity over the whole year. This represents an impressive rise of about 25 percent in overall installations, even if this total for new installations actually increased by only three percent from 2009.

BTM, now part of Navigant Consulting, maintain in their latest World Wind Market Update that wind turbine manufacturers from China have shown further increases in their home market, beating foreign-owned manufacturers by 3.5 percentage points down to a 10.5 percent market share in 2010. Sinovel of China is now ranked as the second largest wind turbine manufacturer in the entire world behind only Vestas. According to BTM, Sinovel's most recent installed wind power capacity grew from 3510 MW in 2009 to 4386 MW in 2010, and took its global market share up from 9.2 percent to 11.1 percent.

Investment in Renewables

Global investment in renewable power and fuels has therefore defied the global economic crisis to set a new record in 2010, according to a new analysis commissioned by the UN Environment Programme. Indeed, investment hit $211 billion, up 32 percent from 2009's $160 billion.

As in the wind sector, nations beyond the traditional stronghold of Europe and America are emerging as increasingly important players on the global stage. In terms of investment, the developing world has now overtaken the richer countries for the first time. What's more, the continuing shift in the balance of power in renewable energy towards developing countries is no longer a story of China alone.

Solar PV

In the solar photovoltaic sector, the strong growth of the past five years - at a compound annual rate of 65 percent - is not due to luck, or to a recognition that a switch to renewables is imperative. Rather, the trend reflects decades of development in technology, markets and business strategy. In 2010, the industry reached multi-gigawatt scale in terms of annual growth and cumulative capacity and, again, much of this progress has emerged from developing nations.

The renewables sector as a whole is unquestionably buoyant, despite the repercussions of the financial crisis. Yet it must also be recognised that unpredictable policies on financial support are still affecting some markets for renewable energy. Investment decisions have increasingly been focused on those sectors where better margins can be achieved.

The Future

The traditional leading markets of Europe and the U.S. can only expect fiercer competition, not just in terms of technology and its development, but also in attracting the continued investment necessary to achieve their clean energy policy goals. Ultimately, policymakers must put in place stable, long-term measures if growth is to be maintained across all the world's diverse renewable energy markets. Give us a call to find out more about renewable energy technologies and the savings you could be making.

Welcome to Why Choose Renewable Energy. We believe it is not just important but has now become imperative that the message get out there: now is the time for us all to take responsibility for our actions and begin to make the switch over from fossil fuel energy to renewables.

Climate change is no longer a question, but instead a clear and present danger which we must all act upon in order not only to safeguard our own futures, not only our children’s futures, but also the futures of every generation that will follow us.

If you have any questions about renewable energy or what you can do to help stop climate change, feel free to contact the team. We would be glad to discuss renewable energy and the broader context of global warming with you.